The present invention relates to a device for moving a patient longitudinally along the length of a bed. Specifically, the portable patient moving device may be readily attached and detached to a standard bed frame to permit its use in a variety of locations.
Immobile patients confined to bed require considerable handling when being removed from and returned to bed. The process requires considerable institutional manpower by nurses and orderlies, to safely handle the patient when being removed or returned to bed. Patients often are under considerable pain or stress, and the process must be carried out so as not to make the patient any more uncomfortable.
A device which is useful for moving a patient along the length of a bed is described more particularly in U.S. Pat. No. 2,827,642. The device is permanently affixed to the head end of a conventional bed. A crank handle is provided which is connected through a series of webbing to first and second fabric supporting sections. When a patient is placed on the fabric supporting sections, he is moved into place along a bed length by rotation of a crank handle.
The permanent installation of such devices on a bed is unnecessary where patients are sufficiently ambulatory to be removed from and returned to a bed. Requiring each bed to have such a device unnecessarily duplicates the expense of employing such mechanical devices. The present invention is directed to a mechanical device which will assist in moving a patient into and out of bed, and which can be moved from bed to bed, avoiding unnecessary duplication of the device on every bed.